Chapter 1 Themes: Isolation, Family

Mary Katherine Blackwood, who is nicknamed Merricat. She is eighteen she lives with her sister
Constance, who she likes, and the rest of her family is dead.

Constance and Uncle Julian, the two other surviving members of her family, don’t leave the house, so
Merricat has to go into the village to run errands, which she is unhappy about. Merricat hates the
village, calling it ugly, and also mentions that the villagers are “afraid of Blackwoods.” As Merricat
orders products in the grocery store, villagers gossip behind her back, and Merricat fantasizes about
them being dead. At Stella’s Cafe, a villager, Jim Donell, teases Merricat with a rumour that her family
is moving, which greatly upsets her. Later, the Harris boys then recite a rhyme as Merricat heads
home.

- “I could have been born a werewolf, because the two middle fingers on both my hands are the
same length, but I have had to be content with what I had. I dislike washing myself, and dogs,
and noise. I like my sister Constance, and Richard Plantagenet, and Amanita phalloides, the
death-cup mushroom.” – the fact that Merricat dislikes washing herself highlights her childish
nature and dependence on Constance.

- “I imagine that there were plenty of rotting hearts in the village coveting our heaps of golden
coins but they were cowards and they were afraid of the Blackwoods.” This provides a reason to
why the villagers hate the Blackwoods so much – their wealth.

- “In this village the men stayed young and did the gossiping and the women aged with grey evil
weariness and stood silently waiting for the men to get up and come home.” This could
represent a patriarchal time where only men were working, going outside and met up with
others while the women stayed isolated in their houses taking care of their kids.

Chapter 2 Themes: Isolation, Family, Femininity

Upon arriving home Constance greets Merricat and they prepare lunch while their Uncle Julian
reviews his paper which describes the deaths of the rest of the family 6 years ago. After that they get
ready for tea as an old family friend Hellen Clark is coming to visit. It becomes evident that Constance
is not used to interacting to anyone other than Merricat and Uncle Julian, when Helen Clark arrives
with her friend Mrs Wright Merricat greets them. Over tea Helen encourages Constance to return to
the world and this worries Merricat. She then smashes a pitcher in the kitchen. Uncle Julian joins the
family to discuss the night where everyone except him was poisoned with the arsenic at dinner.
Julian who also consumed the poison survived but suffers from memory loss. Despite Helen Clarks
disapproval Mrs Wright is fascinated by the topic. Uncle Julian also discusses Constance’s murder trial
that she was acquitted of.

- “… food of any kind was precious to Constance, and she always touched foodstuffs with quiet
respect. I was not allowed to help; I was not allowed to prepare food” Food is a symbol of power
that only Constance can control, food was used to kill the family members and that food was
prepared by women, claiming back power.
- “Once, even a month ago when it was still winter, words like that would have made Constance
draw back and run away; now, I saw that she was listening and smiling, although she shook her
head.”-Constance is changing, something Merricat doesn’t want.

- “I must have known what she was going to say, because I was chilled; all this day had been
building up to what Helen Clarke was going to say right now. “It’s spring, you’re young, you’re
lovely, you have a right to be happy. Come back into the world.” – Merricat really doesn’t like
how Constance could change, and is very possessive of her.

Chapter 3 Themes: Supernatural/Magic, Femininity, Family

Merricat believes that change is coming. Again, Merricat engages in magical thinking, checking her
“safeguards,” such as a book nailed to a tree and various objects buried. She says she’s been burying
things since she was a kid, believing that it would cause certain things to happen, such as the grass
growing taller. Merricat then helps Constance in the garden, mentioning that their cellar is full of jars
of food canned by generations of Blackwood women, a practice Constance takes pride in continuing.

Uncle Julian eats in the kitchen on good days, where he studies his papers and insists that upon his
death, someone must write his book in his place. He confuses Constance with his deceased wife
Dorothy and asks if her father is home yet. Meanwhile, Merricat chooses three “powerful words”
and decides that as long as they are not spoken aloud, no change will come. They are "melody,"
"Gloucester," and "Pegasus."

- “All the Blackwood women had taken the food that came from the ground and preserved it, …
stood side by side in our cellar and would stand there forever.” – sign of femininity, creating a
strong wall against any oppression from men (this is strengthened it lasting by the house fire as
well)

- “I had buried all my baby teeth as they came out one by one and perhaps someday, they would
grow as dragons.” – Relates to the horror trope Supernatural/magic, she believes in magic and
believes that her safeguards will protect her.

- On Tuesdays and Fridays I went into the village, and on Thursday, which was my most powerful
day, I went into the big attic and dressed in their clothes. – believes in superstition and how
particular days give her strength. (On Thursday she tries to get rid of Charles)

Chapter 4 Themes: Happiness, Isolation, Patriarchy, Supernatural

Merricat wakes up on Sunday still thinking about change. Though it looks like a storm is near,
Merricat goes outside with her cat, Jonas. As she walks, she thinks of her buried treasure, such as a
doll, and checks to be sure that it’s all safe. She climbs into a hiding place between several bushes,
though she notes that no one even tries to find her there. Later, Merricat finds a nest of baby snakes
and casually kills them, explaining “I dislike snakes and Constance had never asked me not to.” On
her way back to the house, she comes across a bad omen, the book she nailed to a tree had fallen
off, making it lose its powers of protection.

A while later, Merricat sees a man outside the door and panics. She leans against the door, trying to
hide from the man, who calls out for Constance. Merricat remembers that people used to come
often to try to look at Constance or take something from the yard as a souvenir, but they don’t come
as often anymore. Merricat then runs to find Constance. Constance explains that he’s their cousin
Charles Blackwood. Merricat panics again and runs away to the creek, lying with Jonas there until the
morning.

- "You should have let me take him to the moon," I said. The moon is a symbol and motif of
Merricat’s ideal life, her vision of escaping reality and her happy place.

- “I found a very bad omen, one of the worst. My book nailed to a tree in the pine woods had
fallen down … was useless now as protection.” Merricat believes this is a sign of a bad omen.

- It was because the book had fallen from the tree; I had neglected to replace it at once and our
wall of safety had cracked. Reinforces her superstitious beliefs.

- “I was held tight, wound round with wire, I couldn t breathe, and I had to run.” Could represent
how women felt under patriarchy, constricted and unable to do anything.

Chapter 5 Themes: Death, Supernatural/Magic

In the morning, Merricat returns to the house. Constance tells her that Uncle Julian is doing better.
Merricat then checks on Uncle Julian, who calls her Constance by accident. Afterwards, Constance
tells Merricat that their cousin Charles is still asleep, and Merricat panics again and smashes her glass
on the floor to try to make Charles leave. Constance explains that Charles came in an attempt to help
them. Meanwhile, Uncle Julian is eager to talk to Charles about the poisoning, asking about the
behavior of his branch of the family. Both Merricat and Uncle Julian notice that Charles closely
resembles Merricat and Constance’s father.

Irritating Merricat, Charles talks about her in the third person to Jonas, the cat, asking how he can
make her like him. Merricat is determined to neaten the house, as she and Constance typically do on
Mondays. As they begin to clean, Merricat thinks to herself that Charles has only come because the
magic had faded, believing that reviving it would force Charles to leave. She hopes to drive Charles
away, but isn’t sure what type of magic to use to do so, and vows to smash the mirror in the hall if
Charles isn’t gone within three days. At dinner, Uncle Julian again tries to bring up the day of the
poisoning, but Charles refuses to talk about it. Charles also volunteers to go into the village to do
errands, taking Merricat’s job away from her.

- "Death occurs between five and ten days after eating," I said. Motif of death after eating

- “Charles had only gotten in because the magic was broken; if I could re-seal the protection
around Constance and shut Charles out he would have to leave the house.” - Magic
- "Charles is a ghost," I said, and Constance sighed. – Merricat refers to Charles as a ghost, a spirit
that must be erased that will bring harm to the family.

Chapter 6 Themes: Patriarchy, Isolation

Charles heads out to the village. After being given money from Constance. “Women alone like you
are, you shouldn't keep money in the house.” – a sign of patriarchy. Meanwhile, Merricat goes
upstairs in search of something to use against Charles and his intrusion. She takes a watch chain,
which had belonged to her father, from a jewellery box, which she says she can tell Charles had been
looking at, and nails it to the tree that she had kept the book on outside. Later, Charles finds the
chain nailed to the tree and is angry, since it’s valuable.

Meanwhile, Constance begins to reconsider her solitary life, expressing regret that she “hides” in the
house, letting Uncle Julian obsess over the tragic past and Merricat “run wild." This alarms Merricat,
who decides she needs to “guard” Constance more extensively than ever before. Next, Merricat
decides to simply ask Charles to leave,but he refuses, Merricat panics, smashing a mirror in her
father’s room. Uncle Julian begins to dislike Charles.

- “He is dishonest. His father was dishonest. Both my brothers were dishonest,” Uncle Julian says.
– this could represent a pattern of lying men in the family.
- "Women alone like you are, you shouldn't keep money in the house." Charles – Patriarchy,
misogyny he states how a man should own everything.
- “I was remembering these days to be kinder to Uncle Julian.” – Pity? Regret? A way of
compensating for her actions that led to his memory loss. The fact that she has to keep
reminding herself suggests that kindness doesn’t come naturally.

Chapter 7 Magic, Isolation, Patriarchy

On Thursday, (her powerful day) Merricat is determined to confront Charles. She places glass, metal,
wood, and sticks from outside throughout her father’s room. Soon, she hears an angry Charles
complaining about the money she buried, saying she has no right to do so. Again, Constance is
confused at his outrage, simply explaining that Merricat likes to bury things.

Merricat escapes to the creek, then returns about an hour later to find him still angry. Having
discovered what Merricat has done to his room, Charles asks her to explain why she did it. Merricat
refuses to answer, afraid that anything she says will help him regain his power. Merricat tells Charles
that he is “evil” and a “ghost”, further irritating him, while Uncle Julian continues talking to him as if
he’s John. Uncle Julian mentions that Charles’s mother (this time understanding who Charles really
is) “desired that the family connection be severed,” but Charles insists this has been forgotten. Uncle
Julian also says that “Merricat is dead”, having died of neglect in an orphanage during Constance’s
trial for murder. Merricat decides to go to the summerhouse, which she says she has not been to for
six years. She explains that no one in her family liked the summerhouse. She imagines her family’s
dinner table, in her imagination, her family says adoring things about her, insisting she must have
anything she wants and should never be punished.

- “Thursday was my most powerful day” – Superstition

- “Charles was still shouting, shaking my box of silver dollars back and forth violently.”- Charles is
very angry about Merricat burying money, insisting she ould have buried “thousands” and that
they’ll never find it, even though there is a lot of money already in the safe, implying his
greediness for more money.

Chapter 8 Themes: Death, Family, Isolation,

As she arrives, Charles is still angry. Constance tells Merricat to clean herself up for dinner, which is
unlike her. As she goes upstairs, Merricat sees that Constance has cleaned Charles’s room, and
pushes his burning pipe into the trash. She comes to sit at the table, where Charles continues to
scold her.

Suddenly, Charles says he smells smoke. Uncle Julian insists on gathering his papers, while Charles
tells Constance to gather the money. Merricat and Constance go outside, while Charles calls for help
from the village. Constance is afraid to be outside of the house, especially once villagers appear to
watch the fire and put it out. Charles repeatedly urges the villagers to get the safe out of the fire,
while a woman calls to let the fire burn. She pulls Constance away from the burning house, while
Constance is terrified of the nearby villagers, who have begun looting the house. The sisters try to
flee to the woods, but the villagers manage to surround them. Constance covers herself with Uncle
Julian’s shawl to stop them from seeing her, while they urge the sisters to go back in the burning
house and taunt them.

Jim Clarke, the fireman, announces that Uncle Julian has died. As the villagers leave, Merricat
comforts Constance. Merricat then takes Constance to her hiding place by the river and tells her that
she wants to poison the villagers’ food and watch them die, “the way I did before,” revealing that
Merricat was actually the one that poisoned her family, and that Constance is aware of this. Merricat
says this instance is the first time the sisters have spoken of the matter.

- “I disliked the sound of the voice never stopping; I wished he would put food on the fork and put
it into his mouth and strangle himself.” Merricats initial reaction to things she doesn’t like is
violence is death, it’s her nature. This is evident with the villagers and Charles.
- "Get the safe in the study," he (Charles) said a thousand times. Money was Charles was most
worried about.
- I said aloud to Constance, "I am going to put death in all their food and watch them die."
"The way you did before?" she asked.
"Yes," I said after a minute, "the way I did before." – This is the only time the two sisters talk
about Merricat’s poisioning the entire family, which implies that the two sisters don’t want to
talk about it.

Chapter 9 Themes: Love, Family, Feminism, Isolation

Constance wakes up later, Merricat tells her they’re on the moon at last, and plans to neaten the
house. Merricat realizes that the rules she set will have to change, she touches Uncle Julian’s shawl,
which she has never done before.

Together, the sisters see the remnants of their house, realizing that the top of it is entirely gone.
Much of the surviving house is a mess, with Constance’s beloved kitchen in disarray—chairs, plates,
and glasses are smashed, and food is lying everywhere. The sisters thus witness the destruction of
things made by generations of their family. Constance goes to the basement, where the preserves
are safe. In contrast to her earlier regret for remaining hidden in the house, Constance expresses the
need to remain even more hidden now that she, Merricat, and Jonas are all that remain of their
family and house. “We are going to lock ourselves in more securely than ever,” she tells Merricat.

The sisters continue tidying the house, looking for things that have been preserved among the
rubble, especially food, silverware, and dishes. Someone knocks on the front door, which is locked
and bolted shut, Merricat and Constance run to hide while Helen Clarke calls out and offers to let the
sisters stay at her house temporarily. Though she begs for Constance to answer the door, the sisters
ignore her, annoyed at her persistence.

Again, neighbours appear to try to convince the sisters to come out of the house. One of the people,
Dr. Levy tells them that Uncle Julian’s funeral is tomorrow and says that many of the neighbours, who
he calls the sisters’ “friends,” have sent flowers. Merricat and Constance remain silent. Constance
apologizes to Merricat for her “wicked” behavior last night, saying that she shouldn’t have reminded
Merricat of why their family died and that she wants Merricat to forget about the whole matter.
Constance says they’ll never speak of it again. The sisters tell each other that they love each other.

- “I put it in the sugar ... You never used sugar.” Merricat admits her crime, making it clear at the
same time that she was careful not to hurt her sister. She knew that Constance never used sugar
on her blackberries but everyone else in the family did.

- "We are on the moon at last," I told her, and she smiled. Merricat’s “moon” is where she lives
happily with Constance by themselves, and how there are no male figures around them to
influence Constance anymore.

- "My kitchen," Constance said. "My kitchen." – a place usually claimed by women, a place that
survived the fire.

Chapter 10 Themes: Love, Family, Isolation, Happiness

Merricat and Constance develop a new routine to their life and consider themselves happy. Local
children come to play in the yard, but the sisters have barricaded the sides of the house to secure it
from others. Merricat tells Constance that they’re on the moon, though it’s not quite as she
imagined it, but Constance agrees that it’s a very happy place. They also decide to preserve Uncle
Julian’s papers, as they think he would have wanted them to.

People continue to bring them food, always silently in the evening, trying to redeem themselves for
destroying the house and leaving notes of apology. Sometimes, Merricat hears people outside going
by and gossiping about the house and the sisters, saying that they kill and eat little children. Charles
also comes back briefly, but even Constance won’t let him in, laughing at his pleas for them to open
the door along with Merricat. A boy is dared to sing the rhyme in front of the house, and his parents
leave a note with food saying that he didn’t mean it. The sisters laugh again, joking about the rumors
about them. “We are so happy,” Merricat says to Constance.

- "They are the children of the strangers," I told her. They have no faces." This emphasises that
everyone seems “grey” and how they have no faces, irrelevant characters to her story.
- "They'd hold you down and make you eat candy full of poison; I heard that dozens of bad little
boys have gone too near that house and never been seen again.” -Isolation from others, refer
them to death and poison and the sisters find it amusing.